Eira Riley has a secret to hide, even though she doesn't want to. She loves her powers of ice and snow.
When dark forces enter her world, she is forced to stand up against them. In fact, Eira wasn't that unwilling to do so. For once, she'll no long...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
That night was peaceful. The pearl moon rose slowly in the sky.
Eira sat in her room after dinner, elbow on her desk and face in her palm. She gazed idly at the window that was left mysteriously open the day before. She spared a downward glance at her biology homework.
She sighed, exasperated.
"DNA, RNA...?" She threw her pen on the table and stretched her back.
She looked at the ring on her finger. It sparkled beautifully; each cut and edge to its perfection. Eira admired it for a while until she got bored again.
She played with her pencil, feeling the bumps of her pencil grip. Like her, she felt bumpy about her surroundings. Her eyes would always be tempted to move back to the window, as if in the shadows, someone was watching her.
It would be easy. Her ceiling lights were on and her curtains were not closed.
She stood up and grabbed the sheer curtains. In the reflection of the window, she saw the interiors of her room: the end of her bed, her desk, her own image, the bookshelf and-
A chill froze Eira to the spot. She turned around, only to see a boy crouched near the corner. Slowly, he rose.
The hooded boy...
Skyler's story was on quick replay. Eira inched back to a corner.
He approached quietly like a panther but Eira had nowhere to go.
"What do you want?" Her voice quivered slightly. "Leave before I scream."
The boy was unfazed. "Give me the ring."
Eira trembled but steadied herself with a clenched fist.
She remembered Jason's story and his bargain with the boy. How she wished she also knew how to negotiate cleverly. Being cornered like a prey was unpleasant business.
You could throw it out the window and make a run for it.
No. The window was not a safe option. Could he teleport? She couldn't risk it. If she acted recklessly, what sort of worthy Ryder was she? A Ryder will fight to the end.
Eira was quiet. She carefully hid her hand behind her. Using one hand, she tried to slip the ring off but her efforts were futile and difficult.
"One last time. The ring."
Eira narrowed her eyes.
"No."
The hooded boy raised his hand and with a click of his fingers, Eira felt the darkness fading in and she collapsed into the boy's arm.
***
It was suffocatingly cold. There was an iciness in the air that embraced her tightly. She shivered awake.
